New Zealand Wellington Mission

Month: October 2016

Wow Wow Wow. What a week. I feel like it’s been AGES since I wrote last Tuesday. I hope you all had a FANTASTIC week! So here was my week:

On Wednesday we had exchanges again, but I was in Flaxmere with Sister Pulsipher. Which means that I had to lead the area. WHAT? I was so nervous! Sister Pulsipher doesn’t know anyone or anything in Flaxmere, and so we were relying on what I could remember. It was so stressful, but by the end of the day, I was able to get some sort of a grip on everything and I was able to be less stressed out. Heavenly Father is so good. He was able to help me out when I felt like I was lost. Blessings on blessings, people. It may have been something small, like helping me remember a street name, or helping me figure out who to visit, but I know that I was not on my own.

On Friday we had Zone Training! All of the missionaries in the Hawkes Bay zone gathered in Hastings to be trained by our AP’s (Elder Baer, and Elder Tui’pulotu) and our Zone Leaders (Sister Matekeua, Elder Simpson, and Elder Ahokovi.) It was a powerful day! After Zone Training we had to go back to the hospital because Sister Matekeua’s dog bite was still really causing her some pain. The doctor sentenced her to bed rest for 2 full days so that it could have time to heal properly. So the Napier sisters took turns switching with me so that I wouldn’t be stuck in the flat all day. I love them so much. I spent most of Saturday with Sister Tanner, and most of Sunday with Sister Pulsipher. So not only did I lead the area once this week, but pretty much the whole week I was leading. I think it made me appreciate my companion more, and all that she does for me. (And don’t worry, the dog bite is MUCH better, and we are back to work again today!)

Fun Story: So when I was with Sister Tanner, We knew that Sister Matekeua hadn’t eaten anything all day because she was stuck at the flat, so we ran to the grocery store, and there was a nice man there named Peter Billman. He was so cool! He is a member from the U.S. just visiting NZ, because he served his mission here a while back. Anyways, when we got to the check out, Brother Billman paid for all of our Groceries! He wouldn’t let us pay! It was such a miracle. I love that guy. Sister Tanner and I were so grateful, and we have made an extra effort to pass the kindness forward to other people this week.

Also, the reason for the title of this email: Cocoa Samoa, is a drink that Samoans make here. It is very strong, and most white people can’t handle it. But I LOVE it. The Lauvou’s always make it for us when we go over, and they are always surprised when I finish it all. I don’t even know how you make it, it is very strong… but I like it.:)

Spiritual thought: I had to speak in the Kiribati branch again this week, and we were asked to speak for 20 minutes! I spoke about the importance of the Book of Mormon. It is our most powerful resource in conversion as missionaries, and it is something that we should not take lightly. If you have not read the Book of Mormon recently, or at all, I challenge you to make time to read it. Make it a priority in your life and I promise you, you will be blessed. “The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, has the healing power to nourish Starving spirits of the world.” -Boyd K. Packer.

Hello dear friends and family! I hope you all had a great week! Sorry about the lack of email yesterday, it was Labor weekend here in New Zealand, and so all of the places with computers were closed for the holiday. But wow oh wow this week has been crazy! We got two new investigators this week! One is a lady named Katie and she is just so golden. The first time we met her, her face was painted green because she had just been zombie hunting, and it pretty much just doesn’t get any better than that. Our next new investigator is named Ray! He is an old man who we door-knocked into. He is so funny! Every time we go teach him, we all just have so much fun! I truly love the area that I have been put in! Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE being a missionary?:)

On Tuesday this week we had exchanges again, and I was in Napier with Sister Tanner! We were trying to think of new ways to talk to people, and so we decided to have a picnic ON THE BEACH. It was the coolest thing ever, and people just kept coming up to us to talk with us. It worked out perfectly! Plus, I got to see the ocean again which was the coolest thing ever.

When I got back from exchanges, I had left my bike at the Library here in Flaxmere, while I was with my companion doing some street contacting, and SOMEONE STOLE MY BIKE. It was locked up, and they left the dismantled lock and my helmet behind. I just feel sorry that whoever stole the bike isn’t going to be safe because they left behind the helmet. So the police are investigating, but who knows. Bummer.

On Wednesday, one of the members of our stake, Brother Tuimaseve, took us to Rush Munroes. It is the BEST ice cream place I have ever been to. If any of yous are ever in New Zealand, it is definitely a must. I kept calling it Mount Rushmore’s because it sounds similar, and everyone just kept laughing. I’m still an American at heart I guess.

On Saturday, we did service ALL day with the Elders that are also serving in our ward. Elder Fifita, and Elder Barney. We did some gardening for some older ladies in the ward,and we were able to help out a lot of people. After we were getting ready to leave one of the services, my companion thought it would be fun to tackle me and there was this massive dog that just came to my rescue, and bit her! We ended up in the Emergency room for the rest of the night. No worries, she is all good, but I think it’s safe to say that she will think twice before tackling me again:) That same night, Elder Fifita was mucking around and he ended up in the emergency room as well, with 2 broken fingers! It has been an interesting week for sure.

Sunday was fun because we got asked to teach in primary! We taught about how we can resist evil, and choose the right. It reminded me of a quote from last General Conference. “May we ever choose the harder right, than the easier wrong.” Those little kids were so stinkin’ cute.

Yesterday (Monday) we weren’t able to email due to the holiday, but our recent Converts Lucy, and Cindy took us on a hike for our P-day! We went to Te Mata peak! It was gorgeous! I missed hiking! Anyways, sorry for the sporadic email about the craziness that is mission life! I hope you all have a great week!!

Spiritual thought: Luke 1:37 With God, nothing, I mean NOTHING, is impossible. Always remember that our Heavenly Father wants us to succeed. He does not want to see us fail. “Heaven is cheering you on yesterday, today and ALWAYS.”- Jeffery R. Holland.

Wow this was a powerful week! (I probably say that every week, but I don’t care because it was!!) It started off on Monday when we traveled down to Palmerston North for MLC. I am getting more comfortable with driving, but it’s still a struggle. It was a beautiful drive. We followed the Zone Leaders (Elder Ahokovi and Elder Simpson) down there, and they were crack up! They would just randomly pull over and do a Chinese fire drill, and then get back in their car and keep on going. It was great. We spent the night in Palmy with Sister Ioane and Sister Birmingham. It was so fun! Then, instead of going all the way to Wellington, and spending the day with the sisters there, they surprised me and took me to Levin (which is on the way) and I GOT TO SPEND THE DAY WITH SISTER PEGA!!! And her companion Sister Hemi! It was the best day ever. We went to the beach and ate fish and chips for lunch! I felt like I was on Bay Watch, because I was running away from the seagulls that wanted my chips! It was SUCH a powerful day! It is cool to see how much Sister Pega has grown as a missionary since the last time I saw her.

When we traveled back to Flaxmere, we had a district meeting and a district service! We went as a district to a horse barn, and did some gardening. It was so FUN! Oh and fun fact: It is summer here (so that’s pretty much messing me up…) But the weather here in Hawkes Bay is GORGEOUS. I love it here. I love being a missionary.

On Wednesday night, we had a Kiribati Branch Rescue night! (The first of many). We were able to go on splits with the sisters here, and visit SO many people from the Kiribati branch who have gone less active. Our hard work paid off, because yesterday at church, the sacrament attendance doubled from what it usually is! It was such a cool experience. I know that there are people all around the world that just need a little love and kindness to push them in the right direction, then we can get them on the right path again!!

THE BEST PART OF THE WEEK: CINDY GOT BAPTIZED!!! WHOOP WHOOP!! **Insert: jumping up and down and clapping and being happier than my normal happy** It was SO cool! She was so cute! I will attach pictures later, but lemme just tell ya, I know the difference that a knowledge of Jesus Christ can make in a person’s life. It is incredible that I have had the opportunity to teach her, and to watch her grow. I am so blessed.

Spiritual thought: Matthew 5:36. “Be not afraid, only Believe”. I really like this scripture, because it goes with Elder David A. Bednar’s talk that he gave at conference. He said that “we come to know the Lord, not only as we believe IN Him, but as we BELIEVE Him. So be not afraid! We are so blessed to live in this time and to have this knowledge. I hope you all have a powerful week and my invitation to you: MAKE SOMEONE SMILE. That is my goal every day, and it makes me so happy to make other people happy.

This week has been so great!! Sister Matekeua and I have been spending a lot of time going over our ward lists and ward records for the Flaxmere area with Brother Joseph. We have visited SO many people this week, and you know what I discovered, I LOVE talking to people. Like seriously. People keep asking me why I am so happy, and I honestly think it’s just because I LOVE being a missionary. It’s the best. Anyways, so we have found out that a lot of people from our records have moved, so it has been a good thing to update all of the records that we still have.

This week has also been a week of heaps of service! We have been working with Elder Fifita and Elder Barney (the other missionaries in the Flaxmere 2nd ward) a lot, to help the Kireka family organize their garage. It was a lot of work, but I love serving others! Also, we were on our way to a teaching appointment, and this older lady was doing some gardening. We just started helping her, and we ended up helping her for an hour! She is such a sweet lady, and she told us to come back any time to teach her! I love this place so much.

Also this week, since transfers happened on Wednesday, we had our first district meeting with our new missionaries on Thursday! That was SO fun. It was good to meet some new missionaries and learn from their experiences. I got asked to take minutes for the meeting, and to do a role play activity with Sister Matekeua. It was so funny because we had each missionary pick a random word, and a random gospel principle, and they had to teach that principle to us as fast as possible, using the word we had given them. It was pretty cool, but the moral of the game was to realize that we can relate anything to the gospel. Very powerful.

WE FINALLY GOT TO WATCH GENERAL CONFERENCE. ( It is a broadcasted conference where the leaders of our church speak to us. It only happens every 6 months, and it is so powerful!) We had to watch it this weekend, because even though it aired last weekend in the USA, because of the time difference, we had to wait. I LOVED it so much! So uplifting! I felt like a sponge, jsut absorbing all of the wonderful advice, and teachings from our beloved leaders.

We have MLC again this week, which means I will be driving to Wellington again…. Wish me luck!! Also, CINDY IS GETTING BAPTIZED THIS WEEK! Whoop whoop! If you can’t tell, I am so stoked. Anyways, keep being the wonderful people that I know and love. If you ever need anything, let me know!

Spiritual thought: I really loved Elder Russel M. Nelson’s talk on Joy. He said that Happiness has little to do with the circumstances of our lives, and everything to do with the focus of our lives. We can be happy in every circumstance if our focus is on Christ. Jesus Christ is Joy. Focusing on joy brings God’s power into our lives. Which reminds me of the scripture, 2 Nephi 2:25, “Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy.”

KEEP SMILING!!

Ofa Lahi Atu,

Sister Weight

Picture #1: This was back at the MTC with Sister Pega, at the Hamilton Visitors Center

I hope everyone is having a GREAT week because I am!!! Wow this week was AMAZING! Last Monday night we went to the Lauvao’s house for FHE. It was so fun! They had all of their kids, cousins, grandparents, aunts, and uncles there and it really made me miss my family, BUT, not only did we have an amazing FHE, and they fed us HEAPS of food, THEY ALL DID THE HAKA FOR US. For those of you who don’t know what the haka is, it is a New Zealand cultural thing and you need to look it up like now. It was the coolest thing ever. Then on Tuesday we had exchanges! So I went to Napier to spend 24 hours with Sister Tanner! She is from Canada, and she is the cutest ever! I saw so many miracles when I worked with her, and I GOT TO SEE THE OCEAN! That was pretty cool. I will attach pictures later!

On Wednesday I was back in Flaxmere with Sister Matekeua, and we had our last district meeting of this transfer. It was sad because our district leader is finished with his mission now and will be going back to Australia tomorrow. Once our meeting was over, all 9 of the elders in our district did the Haka for us!!! We all cried. It’s a really cool thing to see them do the haka for someone that they love like that. Elder Moy will be missed, but his two years is up, and I’m sure that his family will be happy to have him back.

Then on Thursday we were on exchanges again, so I was back in Napier with sister Pulispher this time! She is from Arizona, and it was so fun to work with her! (It was also good to be with another American for a while:))

One thing that I have realized this week is that Heavenly Father loves all of His children. ALL of them. Even those who we don’t appreciate, because He sees all of the potential that we each have. He see’s us all through our trials and our pains, and he still gives us hope and joy. He gives us all that we have, and we need to show him our love in return by loving all of those around us. I know this sounds crazy, but I LOVE everyone here. Even when they are rude or aren’t interested in what we have to say, I still love them, and I want so desperately for them all to be happy. I know this is a random thought, but I just thought I would share.

This week we have really been trying to work a lot with the Kiribati branch because they are struggling to get members to come to church. We have been door knocking A LOT. And can I just say, if someone knocks on your door, don’t slam the door on them, okay? They are probably just good people trying to do their job, so just kindly say you are not interested. Well that’s about all for this week! I hope you all have a great week this week!

Spiritual thought: Alma 37:37. Council with the Lord in all that you do. Pray to the Lord in all that you do and he will direct your paths.

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY.

Ofa Atu,

Sister Weight

Picture #1: The Flaxmere District

Picture #2: Me in Napier

Picture #3: Sister Tanner and I in Napier (Yes we did climb those stairs…)

Picture #4:Sister Quinlan, me, and Sister Funaki in Wellington (This is from AGES ago, but I like the picture:))